The present invention is directed to a stand for supporting a person such as a hunter on a pole, the trunk of a tree, or the like and is more particularly directed to such a stand that is easy to attach to or mount on tree trunks or poles having variable inclinations relative to vertical. Throughout this application, it will be understood that a disclosure of the use of the stand on a tree trunk or limb covers the use of the stand on a pole and vice versa and that the stand can be used on any similarly shaped support.
Various stands for supporting hunters on trees are known in the art. Variations on such stands as developed by the inventor of the present invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,331,216, 5,090,504, and 5,379,861 and in the PCT publication WO 93/13697 A1, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.
A tree stand typically has upper and lower platforms, functioning as a seat and a foot rest respectively, intended to be maintained in a spaced-apart and parallel relationship. The platforms are secured to a tree in one of various ways, such as by a strap or a pair of jaws extending around the tree trunk from each of the platforms.
However, trees do not necessarily grow vertically. Instead, soil or wind conditions or the like can force trees to grow at an angle. Also, it is often desirable to attach the stand to a limb of a tree rather than to the trunk. Therefore, on each of the platforms, the strap or the pair of jaws must be given enough slack to allow the platform to be suspended in a horizontal orientation without compromising safety. Such adjustment can be tricky and must be performed twice, once for each platform.
It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that a need exists in the art for a tree stand which can be easily and safely attached to a tree trunk or limb, regardless of the orientation of the tree trunk or limb.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a tree stand which can be safely and easily attached to a tree trunk or limb having any orientation from vertical to horizontal.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a such a tree stand in which an attachment mechanism holds the tree stand onto the tree trunk or limb without any need to leave slack to accommodate a tilt of the tree trunk or limb.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a tree stand in which the platforms do not have to be adjusted separately.
To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention is directed to a tree stand having an adjustable jack plate for leveling the tree stand. The platforms are attached to a vertical member, which in turn is pivotally attached to the jack plate. The parts of the jack plate and the vertical member which are remote from the pivot point are held together by an adjustment strap. The vertical member and the jack plate can assume any relative orientation, while the platforms are held by the vertical member to be perpendicular to the vertical member and thus parallel to each other. The jack plate is held onto the tree trunk or limb by straps or another suitable attachment mechanism.
In use, the tree stand is attached to the trunk or limb so that the jack plate is held tightly onto the trunk or limb in parallel thereto. The adjustment strap is adjusted so that the vertical member is disposed vertically and the platforms are disposed horizontally. Thus, the tree stand is held securely onto the tree by the jack plate, while the vertical member and the platforms are in their correct orientations to be usable.